


If Your Plane Fell (Out Of the Skies)

by Spikedluv



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: Apocalypse, Community: Kradam Flashfic, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-12
Updated: 2011-11-12
Packaged: 2017-10-26 00:23:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kris, Adam & Tommy head to Conway to check on Kris’ parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Your Plane Fell (Out Of the Skies)

**Author's Note:**

> Apocalyptic schmoop. (Yeah, I don’t know, is that even possible?!! *g*) Sequel to [Every Second Counts (On a Clock That’s Ticking)](http://spikedluv.livejournal.com/651908.html) that starts up immediately where that fic ends. Written for christig428 for her donation to the Dollar Drive at krisfansunite to benefit DonorsChoose.org. Also used to fill the **On the Road** prompt at kradamflashfic.
> 
> Written: November 4, 2011

Kris buried his face in Adam’s neck. He wanted to drag Adam into the house and up to his bedroom so they could finish what they’d started there in front of the fire, but he needed to calm down before he could turn around and face Adam’s friends, much less his *parents*. Adam rubbed Kris’ back, as if he knew that he needed the soothing touch, but even the comforting strokes sent off sparks in Kris’ body until his nerve endings slowly lost their over-sensitivity.

Kris let the conversation wash over him as Adam’s welcome touch eased him back from the edge, until he thought he could face the others without completely embarrassing himself. He drew back from Adam slowly, his eyes catching Adam’s when he glanced over to make sure Kris was alright. It took but a moment for Adam to read Kris’ intent in them. Kris slid off Adam’s lap and took Adam’s hand in his.

Without taking his eyes off Kris, Adam stood. Kris’ gaze caught Leila’s as he turned to lead Adam towards the deck steps. He was thankful for the cover of the night when he blushed, but he gave her a little wave and managed a, “Goodnight,” that he hoped didn’t sound too much like, ‘I’m going to take your son upstairs now and ravage him.’

He’d failed spectacularly if Brad’s, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” and the titters that followed were anything to go by.

“So pretty much anything goes, then?” Alli snarked, drawing attention onto Brad and away from the two of them, for which Kris could’ve kissed her, if he hadn’t been so intent on getting someplace private so he could kiss Adam instead.

While the others joined the ‘let’s tease Brad’ bandwagon, Kris drew Adam across the deck through the darkened living room, and up the stairs to his bedroom. They’d turned off all the lamps and unplugged any unnecessary electronics and appliances to conserve energy, so Kris didn’t bother to turn on any of the lights to illuminate their way. Besides, he quite liked the way Adam looked with the moonlight spilling across his skin.

In his bedroom, Kris pressed Adam down on the bed and crawled on top of him. He’d missed being able to do this, and had lost count of the number of mornings he’d woken after a dream of being with Adam, only to have the cold, hard reality of it hit him in the face with the light of day. But this, this was real, and when morning came Adam would still be there, wrapped around Kris.

Kris touched Adam’s face, smiling when the moonlight gleamed off the silver band Adam had put back on his finger that afternoon, where it belonged.

“What are you smiling at?” Adam said with amused tolerance as he slid his hands up Kris’ sides.

“Everything,” Kris said, pushing his fingers into Adam’s hair, and then lowering his head to kiss him.

Kris was breathless and achingly hard when they broke the kiss. He tugged at the hem of Adam’s t-shirt, desperate to get down to bare skin. Adam lifted his shoulders off the bed and Kris helped tug the shirt out from between him and the mattress, then slipped his hand beneath it, trailing eager fingers over Adam’s belly as he pulled the shirt off over his head.

Kris bent to Adam and pressed his lips to newly bared skin before Adam’s head had even cleared the material. Adam moaned in appreciative pleasure and placed an encouraging hand in Kris’ hair.

“We have to be up early tomorrow,” Adam said, as though he thought he should issue the reminder, but Kris didn’t care if they had to be up in an hour; he’d waited too long for this, having Adam back in his life, in his arms, in his bed. Sleep was overrated, anyway. Kris thought he could exist on just Adam – the scent and taste and feel of him fueling Kris like neither sleep nor food could do.

Kris kissed a trail down Adam, from shoulder to collarbone, to nipple, to sternum, to rib, to belly button, all the while his fingers working industriously to unbuckle Adam’s belt, then slip the button and lower the zip. Adam wriggled against Kris’ lips as they unerringly found spots that alternately tickled and made him moan with pleasure. Adam gasped when Kris’ knuckles brushed him through the denim, and then made a sound that went directly to Kris’ groin when Kris shoved his hand beneath denim and cotton and touched him.

Kris raised his head so he could watch Adam’s face, eyes drifted shut, mouth hanging open as he pushed helplessly into Kris’ hand.

“I want you to fuck me,” Kris said, pressing his lips to the head of Adam’s cock, which he’d maneuvered outside his briefs.

Adam’s eyes flew open and his gaze locked onto Kris. He made a low sound deep in his throat when Kris’ lips touched the sensitive tip, and then he grabbed hold of Kris’ shoulders and dragged him up for a hard kiss as they rutted against each other.

Adam slipped his hand beneath Kris’ t-shirt and got him out of his clothes with a speed Kris remembered from when they’d first gotten together and couldn’t wait to be naked and wrapped around each other. Adam tossed Kris’ clothes haphazardly onto the floor, and then stood to kick off his own jeans and briefs, and the one flip flop that hadn’t already fallen off.

“Oh,” Adam said when he finally stood there naked.

Kris was too busy taking in every inch of bared skin, mapping with his eyes the freckles he couldn’t quite reach with his fingers, to notice Adam’s troubled tone.

“I don’t have any supplies,” Adam said forlornly, looking at Kris with a hopeful expression.

Kris tore his eyes away from the freckles dancing across Adam’s skin and rolled to his side so he could reach the night stand. He pulled out the drawer and withdrew a bottle of KY and a strip of foil packets. Kris studied the condoms thoughtfully, trying to remember when he’d bought the package. He remembered that he’d been in a foul mood after seeing a picture of Adam with his date du jour gracing the cover of some tabloid at the grocery store and made the purchase in a fit of pique.

“How long do they last before they expire?” Kris asked as Adam snatched bottle and strip out of his hand.

Adam paused and looked at Kris, his face going soft at whatever he saw on Kris’ face. A determined expression replaced the softness as Adam tore two condoms off the strip and tossed them and the bottle onto the mattress, the rest of the strip back into the drawer. “I’ll wear two, just in case,” he said as he slid onto the bed beside Kris and kissed him onto his back.

Kris slid his hand up Adam’s arm and over his shoulder until he could tangle his fingers in Adam’s hair. He’d missed this, being able to touch Adam whenever he wanted to, just reach out and take his hand, or touch his arm, or kiss him, or dig his fingers into his hair and _pull_.

“I love you,” Adam said against Kris’ lips. “I missed you so fucking much.”

“I missed you, too,” Kris said, and kissed Adam again. When Kris pulled back, Adam looked at him expectantly. “Oh,” Kris said, trying not to smile as he blinked innocently up at Adam. “Ditto on the love thing.”

“Ditto on the . . . ,” Adam repeated as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “You little shit,” he said, a hint of admiration in his voice, and poked a finger into Kris’ side.

Kris squealed as Adam tickled him, but he couldn’t get away from Adam’s evil fingers because Adam had pinned Kris with his freakishly long legs. Giggling and breathless Kris begged Adam to _stop, please stop, I’ll do anything_. Kris sagged against Adam and tried to catch his breath when Adam finally relented, little hiccups of laughter escaping once in a while.

Adam looked at Kris, amused, and exasperated, and fond. Kris reached up and traced the lines of Adam’s face, around his eyes, over his cheeks, across his lips. A face so dear to him, with features he’d memorized, and yet had been afraid, so afraid he’d forget.

“I don’t think I could ever _not_ love you,” Kris said, trying to not choke up as he was suddenly overcome with emotion.

“I tried to forget you,” Adam admitted, dragging Kris close and holding him so tight Kris feared for the sanctity of his ribs. “But you’re impossible to forget. You got so far under my skin that you’re a part of me now.”

Kris gave a watery chuckle. “You’re kind of hard to forget, yourself. Sometimes I thought it would be easier, but I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. Even though I was living that way; it felt wrong.”

“Never again,” Adam vowed. “And don’t be surprised if I don’t let you out of my sight for the next couple of, oh, decades.”

Kris curled his arms around Adam’s neck and shifted his hips against him. “I can live with that,” he said.

Adam pushed Kris onto his back and crushed their lips together. His hands moved over Kris, hard and insistent. It felt like it had been way too long since Adam had touched him like this, and as though it had been just yesterday. Kris moaned Adam’s name as they moved against each other. He curled his leg up over Adam’s hip as Adam’s hand moved over his ass.

“Please,” Kris said, and then hissed, “Yes,” when Adam’s fingers touched him right where he wanted them.

“How careful do I need to be?” Adam asked solicitously as the tip of a slicked finger pressed inside Kris.

“You don’t,” Kris said, blushing. “I’ve been using my fingers.” (And one pretty impressive dildo that reminded him of Adam, but Kris figured that bit of knowledge could wait.)

“Did you think about me?” Adam said, the smirk in his voice at Kris’ blush tinged with a hint of need to hear Kris say it.

“Always,” Kris admitted, the heat of the blush sliding down over his nipples. “But imaginary you was actually _doing_ something,” he added.

“Are you complaining?” Adam said with faked surprise as he withdrew his finger.

“Adam,” Kris whined, and then moaned when Adam returned with two. He clutched at Adam’s shoulders as his body stretched around the intrusion.

“Too much?” Adam said worriedly.

“No,” Kris said, though he‘d not considered the fact that Adam’s fingers were slightly larger than his own when he’d taunted Adam. “I want . . . I want . . . .”

“Shh,” Adam said, pressing kisses to Kris’ face. “I’ll give you everything you want, everything you need. Relax and trust me.”

“I do,” Kris said. “Adam, I do.”

Adam touched him inside and Kris forgot what they’d been talking about. Adam touched him until Kris writhed on his fingers and begged for more as little shocks electrified his entire body. Adam opened him with three fingers, and when he withdrew them Kris felt empty.

Adam remembered his promise to use two condoms, though he swore as the second foil packet resisted his efforts to tear it. Kris helped, removing the condom and rolling it onto Adam, enjoying the sound of his groan at the touch of Kris’ fingers. Kris stroked Adam, then guided him to his entrance and watched Adam’s face as he fought back the instinct to just push into him.

“Do it,” Kris said, voice raspy with need.

Adam ignored him and pressed in slowly, almost too slowly for Kris’ liking, until he was all the way inside him. Adam swore, resisting the urge to move, allowing Kris time to adjust to him. Kris wiggled his ass in invitation for Adam to get on with it. Adam groaned.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to come right now,” Adam warned.

Reluctantly, Kris stopped. “Sometime tonight, though, yeah?” he said, earning himself a one-eyed glare. Kris gave Adam a cheeky grin, then dragged him down for a kiss to distract him. It worked better than Kris had hoped, because Adam’s hips began moving as they kissed.

The kiss went from a tangle of tongues to lips merely pressed together as they fought to breathe through the things Adam was doing to Kris. Kris panted Adam’s name against his lips as he clutched at his shoulders, hooked an ankle around Adam’s hip and moved his own hips to meet each of Adam’s thrusts.

Adam buried his face in Kris’ neck, his breath hot against Kris’ skin. “Mine,” Adam growled, placing a possessive kiss to Kris’ neck.

“Yes,” Kris agreed breathlessly, sliding one hand into Adam’s hair and tipping his chin back to give Adam better access.

“I hated . . . ,” Adam began, then stopped. “Never letting you go again,” he finished.

“No,” Kris agreed. He dragged Adam’s face out of his neck so he could look into his eyes. “Never.”

Adam’s face told Kris everything he could ever want to know; that he was loved, and needed, and desired above all else. “Adam,” Kris said, and hoped Adam could see all of that on his face, as well.

Adam made a sound deep in his throat that went through Kris, shivering down his spine and curling around the base. Kris dug his fingers into Adam’s skin, trying to hold onto him even as he felt himself flying apart. Kris had missed the connection he’d always felt when he was with Adam, how open and honest his feelings for Adam were, and never exposed so much as when they were together like this, without any barriers between them, whether clothing, or other people’s expectations.

Kris felt light as air, his skin glowing and transparent, and then he was spinning and falling. When he once again felt the mattress beneath his back, Kris’ limbs felt heavy, all of his nerve endings humming happily. Adam held him, nuzzled his neck as he continued to move slowly inside him.

Kris made a sound and Adam raised his head to look at him. Kris knew Adam saw . . . everything, because he breathed Kris’ name and fell to join him.

~*~*~*~

The power was out when Kris woke up the next morning. His first thought when the faucet sputtered and refused to produce a stream of water, was that he was glad they’d washed up last night before falling into a deep, sated sleep. Adam woke as Kris pulled on an old pair of sweat pants so he could go check out the reason for the power outage.

“What’s wrong?” Adam mumbled, even as he managed to look unhappy when Kris covered himself.

“No power,” Kris said. “I’m just gonna go see if I can figure out what’s going on.”

“Wait for me,” Adam said. At least, that’s what Kris thought he said.

Adam pushed the covers back, sat up, and yawned. Kris found himself getting distracted by all that beautifully freckled skin, so he found Adam’s jeans on the floor and tossed them to him. Adam pushed a hand through hair that was already standing on end, and then tugged the jeans on. Kris refused to think about Adam going commando, which had always been a kink of his – he’d loved shoving his hand down Adam’s pants and discovering bare skin.

Adam leered at Kris, as if he knew exactly what Kris was thinking, and the effect was only partially ruined by the yawn that interrupted it. Kris took the opportunity to escape, turning towards the door, stumbling just a little bit as he wiped sleep out of his eyes. He heard the whisper of Adam’s bare feet following him.

The hallway was dimly lit by the early morning light, so at least Kris wouldn’t miss a step and tumble down the stairs in his half-awake state. Adam touched Kris’ shoulder as they moved through the living room, the silence broken only by soft snoring, and Kris reached up to take his hand. They peeked into the empty kitchen, which was also silent; Kris hadn’t realized how loud the hum of the refrigerator was until that sound was missing.

As soon as they stepped out onto the deck, signs of life made themselves apparent. A fire had been started in the outdoor fireplace, and several pots were sat on the grate over the flames. The dew on the grass was cool on Kris’ bare feet, but he ignored it as he led Adam to the fireplace where Leila and Amy stood talking.

“Morning,” Leila said when she saw them, waving and smiling despite their circumstances and the early hour.

Kris offered up a wave, and Adam a gravelly, “Morning.” One of the many things they had in common was that neither of them were morning people. Leila gave them both a hug in spite of their less than cheerful demeanor.

“What’s going on?” Adam said, indicating the pots over the fire.

Kris moved closer to Adam, and maneuvered both of them closer to the fire, wishing he’d thought to pull on a shirt before coming down.

“Power’s out, so we’re boiling water for cooking and washing,” Amy said.

Kris nodded in acknowledgment of her statement regarding the power, which he’d discovered for himself when he’d tried to wash his hands after taking a piss.

“I hope you don’t mind us using your pots,” Leila said, indicating the silver pots which would soon be blackened from the flames licking at them.

Kris shrugged. “I didn’t even know I owned those pots,” he admitted.

Kris’ mom had bought him a bunch of stuff when he’d moved into the lake house, and a year and a half later he was still discovering them.

“Have you heard anything about the power outage?” Kris asked, indicating the radio they’d been listening to.

“Not yet,” Leila said. “The power outage might be affecting the local station; right now all we’re getting is static.”

Which meant they didn’t yet know whether the outage had been intentional, perhaps a rolling blackout to conserve power, or whether the entire grid had failed. Or if Kris’ was the only place that had lost power.

Just then Eber walked up to them and deposited two more buckets of lake water beside the fireplace. “Morning,” he said, touching Adam’s shoulder with a cold, wet hand that made goosebumps break out as Adam jumped away from the touch. Kris giggled at the indignant expression on Adam’s face, and then squealed (a very manly squeal), when Adam held him still for Eber’s cold touch.

“That was mean,” Kris pouted as Adam cuddled him close in apology even as he grinned at the payback he’d doled out. Before he could tickle Adam in retaliation (which would probably have ended badly, with Kris’ back soaking up the dew), Kris got a strong whiff of coffee. He’d smelled it before, but thought it was just wishful thinking.

“Why do I smell coffee?” Kris asked.

“Because we found this,” Leila said, grabbing a pot holder and using it to lift a camp fire coffee pot from its hiding place among the pots.

“Oh my god,” Kris breathed. “Is that actual coffee?” When Leila nodded, Kris added, “I’m so leaving Adam for you.”

Adam’s arms tightened around Kris. “Not even for coffee,” he said.

“Not even,” Kris agreed with a sappy smile, accepting the kiss Adam pressed to his lips and not caring a whit that they both had morning breath.

Leila poured a mug of coffee that they shared black. “I’m not sure if the milk’s any good,” she said apologetically.

Which reminded them all of the matter of the power being out, and not knowing when (or if), it would come back on. They could cook over the fire, if they had to, though Kris wasn’t sure he had enough wood stocked for that to be a viable long term solution, but they had no way of keeping their foodstuffs refrigerated.

“We’ll still need milk for the kids, though. Maybe we can find powdered milk in town,” Amy said. “It’s not ideal, but it’ll keep.”

“Or a cow,” Eber said, only half-joking. They’d passed several dairy farms on the final leg of their journey to the lake house.

“If any of the jugs you found are water tight, can’t we lower them into the lake to keep things cold?” Adam suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Eber said. “We’d need some rope,” he added, looking to Kris expectantly.

“Uh,” Kris said, buying time as his brain slipped from one topic to another. “There should be rope in the boathouse. Maybe the garage.”

“Boathouse?” Adam said. “You have a boathouse? You didn’t tell us about a boat.”

“It’s more of a shed,” Kris said, “and the boat is actually a canoe.” Adam deflated. “For fishing.”

“Oh, there’s fish in the lake, that’s nice,” Leila said. “Fresh fish sounds good.”

“I should probably get shoes on before checking out the boathouse,” Kris said, looking down at his cold, wet feet.

“You two just go get ready for your trip,” Leila said. “We’ll look for the rope.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Kris said, turning to look at Adam. “Maybe now’s not a good time to leave . . . .”

“Nonsense,” Leila said before Adam could reply. “You need to make sure your family is alright, and let them know that you’re okay. We’re worried about them, too, you know.”

“Besides,” Eber added, “just because we’re not thirty anymore doesn’t mean we can’t survive on our own for a couple of days without you two here to hold our hands.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean . . . .”

“He’s joking. Mostly,” Amy said, giving Eber a sidelong look that told him to behave before turning a more sympathetic gaze on Kris. “Go. It’ll be one thing off our minds if we know that your parents and your brother are doing well.”

Kris couldn’t insist on staying in the face of their own stated concern for his family, especially with Neil and the Cherry’s missing, but he felt bad taking away three pairs of hands just when they might be needed most. When Kris told that to Adam in the privacy of their bedroom, he laughed.

“I hope you’re not implying that either Tommy or I know more about fishing, or boiling water, or running the generator than Danielle or Dad. Besides, we’re leaving behind the queen of organization.”

“Your mom?” Kris said, remembering how Leila had organized their very own Escape From LA.

“Brad,” Adam said, making Kris smile. “Along with people who have a lot of common sense and life experience, even if they haven’t read ‘Surviving the Apocalypse for Dummies’. They’ll be fine. I’m more worried about the roads between here and Conway,” he added, changing the subject and giving Kris something else to think about.

“We’ll ask in town at the Gas & Go when we stop to fill up.”

They had several full jugs of gas in the garage, but Kris wanted to save them for the generator, which they might need sooner rather than later with the power out.

They washed up in the bowl of water that Leila had sent up with them, then Kris used it to flush the toilet he’d used that morning before realizing that there was no power. They got dressed and packed a couple changes of clothes into a shared duffel bag – Adam’s, because it was large enough to include half of Kris’ closet (though that wasn’t saying much given the size of Kris’ closet), much less a mere couple days’ worth of clothes and Adam’s make-up bag.

Adam studied the picture of the two of them that he’d carried with him from LA, then set it on the night stand on the opposite side of the bed from where Kris’ photo sat. He shrugged when he saw Kris watching him.

“Since I’m not letting you out of my sight I don’t need to keep that with me.”

Kris smiled and threw himself against Adam for a hug. He closed his eyes and just breathed in the scent of Adam, and for a moment he could forget that they were living in a post-apocalyptic world without power or any way to contact their loved ones to make sure they were safe.

~*~

They found Tommy on the deck, curled around a cup of coffee.

“Morning!” Adam chirped with way too much enthusiasm for the hour.

Tommy glared at him through the lock of hair that fell into his face. “The only good thing about it is this coffee,” he said. “As soon as we can get a Justice of the Peace here, I’m marrying your mother.”

“You, too?” Adam said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “You two can be bought so easily. Besides, I think Alli’d have something to say about that, don’t you?” he added snarkily.

Tommy’s head shot up and he suddenly looked more awake. “What?”

Adam just gave him the Raised Eyebrow of Knowledge, dropped the duffel next to Tommy’s, and stomped down the steps in his boots.

“What did he mean by . . . ?”

“You two aren’t actually as subtle as you think you are,” Kris said.

“But we’re not . . . ,” Tommy said. “I mean, we’re just friends.”

“Who’s just friends?” Alli said, rubbing her eyes as she stepped out onto the deck. Suddenly she perked up, and her nose zeroed in on the mug in Tommy’s hand. “Is that coffee?”

Before Tommy could answer, Alli slid onto his lap and took the mug out of his hand for a sip. Satisfied, she pressed the mug back into his hand and dropped her head onto his shoulder.

“Um,” Tommy said, while Kris was doubled over laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Allis said sleepily, which set Kris off even more.

“I’ve got to go,” Kris managed to say before heading over to where Adam was talking with his parents, as well as Monte and Danielle, who’d joined them (and who looked more awake than Kris thought was fair for people still wearing the clothes they’d slept in and sporting hair standing on end).

Kris touched Adam’s arm to get his attention. “I’m just gonna go check the truck.”

“I’ll go with you,” Danielle immediately offered. She linked her arm with Kris’ and dragged him off towards the garage.

“Thanks,” Kris said warily, manfully resisting the urge to look back over his shoulder and send a silent plea for help to Adam, but only because he knew that Adam would only smile and send him on his way, leaving him to Danielle’s possibly not so tender mercies.

Danielle checked the fluids while Kris consolidated the gas in the jugs and set the empties in the back of the truck, hoping they’d be able to fill them as well as the tank before leaving Greer Ferry. While Danielle added a quart of oil, Kris wondered if they should take any supplies with them. Presuming that nothing went horribly wrong, it should only take them two, maybe three hours to reach Conway, depending on the state of the roads.

They shouldn’t need any overnight supplies, and besides, he’d hate to take any of the camping supplies away from the others; they’d need them if the power didn’t come back on. Kris rubbed a frustrated hand through his hair and just managed to close his lips on a curse when he saw Beatrix standing on the edge fo the driveway.

“Hey,” Kris said cautiously.

Beatrix regarded him with a steady gaze that made the corner of Kris’ eye twitch. “Do you have any more granola bars?” she finally asked.

“No,” Kris said, wishing desperately that he could say yes. “I took them all with me when I went to LA.”

Beatrix’s gaze was unnerving. “Do they have any where you’re going?”

“They might,” Kris said. “I could . . . look for more . . . while we’re out?”

Beatrix smiled and leapt at Kris with a speed that had images of scraped knees running through his head. Beatrix reached him safely, however, and threw her arms around his leg. She looked up at him with a smile that almost, but not quite, made Kris forget the cunning that had cost him a toasted marshmallow the night before.

“Thank you,” Beatrix said, then released Kris and ran away, towards her mother and siblings, Kris figured, passing Adam with a pleased, “Kris is bringing me more granola bars!”

Adam raised an eyebrow as he opened the back door of the truck and tossed their and Tommy’s duffel bags onto the seat. “Bribing her with granola bars, Kristopher?”

“It was her idea,” Kris said. “And I was afraid to say no,” he admitted.

Adam laughed as he pulled Kris into his arms and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Poor baby.”

“It’s not funny,” Kris said as he snuggled against Adam. “She scares me.”

Tommy appeared around the side of the house with Alli, everyone who was awake trailing behind them. Eber handed Adam a walkie talkie while Leila and Amy shoved bottles of water into their hands.

“We put fresh batteries in it,” Eber said. “Use it as far as you can.”

“Did you fill up?” Leila asked Kris as she slid an arm around Adam’s back.

“No, I wanted to leave the gas for you in case you need to use the generator. We’ll fill up in town.”

“Pumps won’t work if the power’s out,” Amy said.

“Shit,” Kris swore. He kicked the tire, but bit his tongue before he said worse in front of the children.

“It’ll be fine,” Leila tried to assure him.

“We’ll need to go into town, anyway,” Amy reminded them all. “Maybe the power’ll be on by then, or he’ll have a generator running.”

“If not,” Eber said as he filled the tank from one of the jugs, “we’ll see if we can rig something up.”

Kris sighed and tried to let their reassuring words, and the fact that they were remaining calm in the face of each new obstacle placed in their path, bleed the tension out of his body. Adam lent a helping hand by kneading his shoulders.

“Geeze, you’re tense. You need a massage.”

“So we should plan on leaving tomorrow, then?” Tommy snarked. “I know how long your massages take,” he added when Kris and Adam both gave him questioning looks.

Kris narrowed his eyes at Tommy, gas, power, and asteroids all forgotten. “You know?” he said with deceptive calmness.

“Not from personal experience!” Tommy yelped as he jumped to hide behind Alli. “Geeze, jealous much?”

Adam laughed until he had to stop out of necessity to catch his breath. He grinned at Kris and pulled him into his arms. “Love you,” he told Kris, then captured his lips.

Kris was red when Adam finally released him, because of his overreaction to Tommy’s comment (which he was blaming on stress), as well as from being so thoroughly kissed in front of Adam’s friends and family. Kris smiled an apology at Tommy, and then it was time for a round of hugs and ‘drive carefully’s, and ‘we’ll be fine’s.

Before Kris could climb into the truck, Beatrix approached him again, her little arms folded across her chest. “Don’t forget.”

“I won’t forget,” Kris said, gently touching his hand to the top of her head.

Beatrix raised her eyebrows as if to say, ‘Oh no you didn’t!’, and Kris carefully lifted his hand and pulled it back. “You better not have messed up my hair.”

“I didn’t!” Kris assured her while Adam laughed his ass off on the other side of the truck.

~*~*~*~

Kris pulled into the Shell station, past the large cardboard sign proclaiming, ‘No electric, no gas!’ and parked near the front door. Pat Miller, owner the Gas & Go, stepped cautiously out the door. His short gray hair was covered by a ball cap, and his glasses had slid down his nose.

“Pumps aren’t working,” Miller said.

Kris didn’t miss the shotgun he held down by his side. He made sure to keep his hands where Miller could see them as he slid out of the truck. “I know, Mr. Miller,” he said, unable to help shooting the pumps a disgusted scowl. “We’re headed down to Conway to check on my parents. I was hoping you’d heard something about the roads that would keep us from having to backtrack.” Or worse, getting stuck or in an accident.

“Who’re your friends?” Miller asked, still being careful even though he’d known Kris for over a year now.

“This is Adam Lambert,” Kris said, indicating Adam who’d exited the truck and come around to stand at his shoulder. “Adam, Pat Miller.”

Adam stuck his hand out. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Miller.”

Miller looked at Adam’s hand before reaching out and taking it. “The husband nobody talks about,” he said.

Kris’ mouth opened and closed like a fish. “I, um, I didn’t know you knew I was married.”

“Nobody talked about it,” Miller said dryly. “I can imagine they’ll be talking about it now,” he added with an almost twitch of his lips. “You collecting husbands?” he added with a nod in Tommy’s direction.

“What? No! That’s Tommy, he’s just a friend.”

The twitch was more noticeable now; Kris wasn’t thrilled at being the source of Miller’s amusement, but it beat getting run off with a shotgun.

“I heard some things,” Miller said, then turned towards the door expecting them to follow. They did.

The bell above the door rang to announce their entry. The interior of the store was dim, illuminated only by the light coming through the plate glass windows along the front and a battery operated lantern sitting on the counter. Miller stowed the shotgun behind the counter, then picked up the lantern and carried it over to the wall of maps he’d put up for tourists. A large map of Arkansas, torn and folding at the corners, took up half the wall space, a red push pin marking Greers Ferry Lake in the northern part of the state. Beside that were maps for Van Buren and Cleburne counties, and a map of the Greers Ferry Lake area.

“We didn’t get a lot of damage from the ‘quake,” Miller said. “Or those blasted asteroids, pardon my language, but there was some. There were some slides here, and a sink hole opened up here.” He stabbed the map with his finger. “But that’s all to the East, closer to the ‘quake, you shouldn’t have no problem getting to Conway.”

Kris studied the map for a moment; the damage from the earthquake had come awfully close to Greers Ferry Lake. They’d been lucky to arrive and find his home still standing, and the lake still a good source of water and fish. Kris stepped away from the map; he thanked Miller for his help and asked if they could purchase a map to take with them.

Kris had one in his car from when he’d first moved up here, but his car was in Conway. He was familiar with the roads he routinely traveled, but in case they needed to do some backtracking they’d need a map, or Kris’ horrible sense of direction would soon have them helplessly lost.

As he set the map on the counter to be rung up, Kris’ eyes fell on the small cardboard boxes of candy bars stacked beneath it, which reminded him. “Do you carry granola bars?”

Miller didn’t look surprised by the question. He pointed out the aisle and Kris ignored Adam’s grin as he went in search of his holy grail. There were five boxes on the shelf; he took three of them up to the register.

Miler used a handheld calculator to figure the total. Despite the circumstances he didn’t charge a penny more than the price listed on the stickers. Kris took the map and allowed Miller to bag the boxes of granola bars.

“Adam’s parents and some friends are staying with us for a while,” Kris told Miller. The ‘us’ came easily to his tongue, as if they’d never been an ‘I’.

“Think I met some of ‘em at the Shack yesterday. A woman with long dark hair,” he said, looking at Adam. “That your mother?”

Adam nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Nice looking woman,” Miller said, and it was Adam’s turn to be discombobulated by the man. Kris had to hide his grin and cough to cover the laugh that escaped.

“They’ll probably be coming into town later,” Kris went on, not mentioning that they’d be hoping for gas. “These.” He patted the bag. “Are for a young lady named Beatrix. It could be my life if she doesn’t get them. Could I bother you to hold them here for her?” Kris said. “And make sure you tell her they’re from me?”

Kris did his best to ignore Tommy’s snort and the increased twitching of Miller’s lips.

“‘Course,” Miller said.

“Thank you,” Kris said, not caring if he sounded as relieved as he felt.

Tommy held up two Hostess pies. Miller nodded and toted up the cost.

“Seriously?” Kris said.

“We left without breakfast,” Tommy said. “I’m hungry.”

The reminder made Kris’ stomach growl, but he thought he was too anxious about the drive, and what might await them at the end of it, to keep anything down. Giving Kris a defiant stare, Adam placed a box of S’more Poptarts on the counter. He’d never admit it to anyone, but they were one of his guilty pleasures. Kris felt the corners of his own lips twitch. At least they had water in the truck to wash it all down.

Kris thanked Miller again for his help, and for the groceries, and then let Adam take his hand as they walked back out to the truck. As Kris backed out of the parking spot and pulled onto the road, Adam contacted Monte on the walkie talkie. He told Monte that there was a bag waiting for Beatrix at Miller’s Gas and Go, and informed him that they were just leaving for Conway.

Adam set the walkie talkie back in the nook in the console in which it, or another like it, had made the trip from LA, and reached over to place his hand on Kris’ leg. Kris felt himself relax, as if the touch of Adam’s fingers had drawn the tension right out of him.

The drive was uneventful for the most part, very little traffic (Kris figured everyone was busy recovering from the asteroid hits), and nothing more than a washed out shoulder, but that didn’t keep Kris’ shoulders from trying to climb up to his ears. Adam worked overtime to try and keep Kris relaxed and distracted from his fears.

He kept his hand on Kris’ leg, and once in a while Kris reached down to squeeze and hold it. He told stories about Tommy, and Brad, and Allison, none of which included Doug (Kris mentally spat the name) or any of his boys du jour, designed to make Kris laugh. He fed Kris bites of his poptart, sliding his fingers between Kris’ lips in a manner designed _not_ to elicit laughter, and Kris had to shift in his seat to make himself more comfortable in jeans he didn’t remember being quite that tight before.

Kris didn’t even relax when the ‘Welcome to Conway!’ sign came into view. If anything, he grew more tense now that the answer to his worry was in sight. Kris wanted to relax when he saw people on the streets, but the sight of many of them openly wearing or carrying weapons was not conducive to his peace of mind.

Adam’s fingers tightened on Kris’ leg, and then loosened again. Kris didn’t have to look at his face to know that Adam had seen the sidearms and rifles, as well. No one appeared to be threatening anyone else, but fear could cause tempers to flare over the most innocuous thing, and having a weapon close to hand could escalate a normally verbal argument into violence. The calm acceptance of the presence of the guns was almost more worrying to Kris than if people had appeared concerned about them.

Kris’ fears didn’t ease as he drew closer to his parents street. Men and women both stood in some of the side streets, stopping foot and vehicular traffic alike, and questioning them before allowing them to pass. The soothing pat of Adam’s fingers had become rhythmic as his own discomfort showed. Kris was stopped halfway through his turn onto the street he’d grown up on.

“State your business,” the man who’d stopped them said, not even bothering to look at Kris, as if he’d already become bored with the job.

“I’m here to check on my parents,” Kris said. Adam squeezed Kris’ leg to keep him from saying anything else.

“Name?”

“Mine?” Kris said. “Kris Allen.” He was frustrated with the delay, but wary of the weapons, even though he’d grown up with the very people carrying them.

Bill Gertz’s head went up. “Oh, hey, Kris.”

“Bill,” Kris said evenly.

Bill had been a year behind Kris in school and lived a couple houses down the street from the Allen’s house. As far as Kris knew, he still lived there with his parents, or maybe he’d returned to Conway when news of the asteroid was released to the public.

“Who’re your friends?” Bill asked when he caught sight of Adam and Tommy in the truck with Kris.

Before Kris could answer (possibly saying something that got them in trouble), a familiar voice called out his name. Kris glanced around the street for the source of that voice, ignoring Bill and his question.

“Daniel!” Kris called out when he finally caught sight of his brother.

Kris dropped one hand to release the seatbelt, and the other to the doorhandle, not caring a whit that Bill might think he was going for a weapon, and then leapt out of the truck, nearly clipping Bill with the door when he threw it open. Kris and Daniel hit each other hard enough to jar their bones. Kris flung his arms around Daniel and squeezed him tight. He was just so damned happy to see that Daniel was alright.

“How is everybody?” Kris said when he finally released Daniel so he could breathe.

“Fine,” Daniel said. “We’re all fine. Mom’ll be glad to see your stupid face.”

“You’ve got a stupid face,” Kris returned, but he was distracted when Daniel waved past him. Kris turned his head to see Adam waving back, and he smiled.

“I see you found Adam,” Daniel said, giving Kris an elbow in the side.

Kris figured Daniel had already known that, since their mom had known, but he replied anyway. “He found me,” Kris said, gazing lovingly at his husband.

“Geeze,” Daniel said, “save that for the bedroom. Come on,” he went on, dodging Kris’ elbow jab, “let’s go home.”

“Let’s,” Kris agreed. He followed Daniel back to the truck. Kris climbed back in and shut the door. Instead of climbing into the backseat, Daniel stood on the running board and held onto the door through the open window.

Daniel ducked his head and said, “Hey, guys,” then straightened and slapped his hand twice on the roof of the truck. “Let’s go.”

“I didn’t get their names,” Bill protested.

“They’re family,” Daniel said.

If Bill had a response to that kris didn’t hear it. He accelerated slowly, letting the men and women blocking the street move out of the way before speeding up a little bit. There were more people on the sidewalks, and children playing in the street, than he remembered from his last visit home. Kris saw tents set up in backyards, and RVs parked on lawns and in driveways.

“Refugees,” Daniel said, confirming Kris’ theory. “Mom and Dad have a couple staying with them.”

~*~

Two minutes later Kris parked on the street in front of his parent’s home because the driveway was already full. Daniel jumped down, and Kris opened the door and slid out of the truck. He stretched, the tension only easing fully from his muscles now that they’d reached their destination. He rounded the front of the truck and took Adam’s hand as the four of them started over the sidewalk and across the lawn.

The front door of the house slammed open and Kim Allen flew out, calling Kris’ name. Kris dropped Adam’s hand so he could catch his mother, and then he held her while she sniffled against his shoulder.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Kim said as she pulled back and wiped at her eyes. When her gaze fell on Adam her eyes filled up again. She held out her arms and Adam bent to sweep her into a hug.

“Adam,” Kim said. She touched his face when she finally released him. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart.”

“It’s good to see you, too, Mom.”

Kim sniffled again and gave Adam a quick hug at the endearment, and then reached out to give Tommy a hug, as well. She pushed the hair out of his face and kissed his cheek.

“Have you boys eaten?” she asked as she put an arm around Kris and slipped her other through Adam’s.

“No,” Kris said immediately, but Adam’s and Tommy’s guilty expressions gave them away.

Kim shook her head. “Junk food, I’ll bet. And you.” She pinched Kris’ side. “Lying to your mama.”

“I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Kris said.

“Didn’t want to get a tongue lashing, more like,” Kim said.

Before they reached the house Neil appeared around the corner, probably summoned by Daniel, who had gone on ahead of them. He hugged Kris even tighter than his mama had, and more tears fell. He welcomed Adam with a hug, and Tommy with a handshake before hugging Kris again.

“We were worried about you boys,” Neil said, including Adam and Tommy in the comment.

“We’re all fine,” Kris said. “Leila sends her best.”

“How is your mother?” Kim said, taking Adam’s hand and restarting them towards the house.

“How long can you stay?” Neil asked, stopping Kris from following them.

“I don’t know,” Kris said. “A day or two? Now that I know you’re all okay we need to get back soon. There was no power when we left this morning.”

“And you’re worried,” Neil said. “Well, come with me, I’ve got something for you to take back with you.”

“Don’t give us something you’re going to need,” Kris said as he followed.

Neil gave him a look. “I’m your father, not an idiot.”

“Okay, geeze,” Kris said, remembering Eber’s similar comment.

“It’s in the garage,” Neil said. “You’re welcome to join us,” he told Tommy.

Tommy glanced towards the front door through which Adam and Kim had disappeared. “I think I will,” he said. “Let them have their reunion in private.”

Personally, Kris figured that Tommy just didn’t want to be there when more tears fell. Little did he know there was an equal, if not greater, chance of that happening in the garage. Kris didn’t call him on it (or give him a heads up), and they both followed Neil to his workbench at the back.

“I dug these out,” Neil said, moving some things around until Kris saw what he was talking about. Two CB radios.

“I remember playing with these,” Kris said, reaching out to touch one of them.

“More reliable than a cell phone these days,” Neil said, sounding pleased with himself.

“Do they still work?” Kris said.

“Of course they work.” Neil scowled at Kris’ doubt. “Let’s go try ‘em out.”

They carried the radios to the picnic table at the back of the house and scrolled through the channels.

“Breaker, breaker, good buddy,” Tommy said into the handset, making Kris and Neil laugh. While they played with the radios, Kris told his father about his drive to LA, and then the drive from LA back to the lake house.

“You found Adam okay, then?” Neil asked, needing that small reassurance even though he knew that Kris had made it back home safely.

“I almost missed him,” Kris said after telling his father that Leila had sent Adam, Tommy, and whoever had been in that second SUV, to pick him up. Kris had been paying more attention to the state of the once safe streets, and the fact that Adam was sitting right there next to him, to pay much attention to anything else. “They were nearly ready to leave, heading east. Away from the coast.”

“To Arkansas?” Neil said, seeing more than what Kris had meant to say.

Kris shrugged, blushing at his father’s perceptiveness.

“Do you doubt it?” Tommy said as he spun the dial to another channel.

Tommy, Kris decided as he watched Tommy’s deft fingers manipulate the controls, could be in charge of communications, since he seemed to have such an affinity for the radio.

Daniel reappeared while they were still playing with the radios. He carried Michael in his arm, and held Carol’s hand in his. Kris extracted his legs from beneath the picnic table and gave Carol a hug, being careful of her baby bump, and a kiss on the cheek.

“How are you feeling?” Kris asked.

“Good,” Carol said, absently rubbing her belly. “Much better now that the morning sickness has past.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Kris said. “You remember Tommy, don’t you?” Kris said, then turned his attention to Michael while she and Tommy did the whole ‘nice to see you again’ bit.

Michael had his face hidden in Daniel’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy,” Kris said, tickling Michael’s stomach.

Michael arched and giggled, even as he pushed Kris’ hand away, then did a sudden 180 and dove for Kris. Not unfamiliar with the maneuver, Kris managed to react fast enough to catch him before Daniel had the heart attack he was always claiming Michael would give him. (Neil just laughed whenever Daniel said that and told him that he was merely reaping what he’d sown.)

Kris spun Michael around until they were both dizzy. Michael squealed for more, of course, but Kris distracted him with the swing. While Kris pushed him, “Higher, Uncle Kris, higher!” Michael told Kris about the new baby, which he’s seen pictures of (It looked much like a baby to him, but his mama had assured him that it would be beautiful when it came out) and felt kick (maybe they could play soccer together, he grudgingly allowed, when it got big like him), how he wanted to be a Powerpuff Girl for Halloween, and about the little girl, Sandy, who’d moved there (and lived in the camper Kris had seen parked at the side of the house) before the rocks fell out of the sky.

Michael didn’t seem upset about the ‘rocks’ falling, and Kris figured that Daniel and Carol had tried to keep his life as normal as possible, no matter how scared they’d been. For a three year old, everyone gathering at grandma and grandpa’s house probably felt like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

While Michael was telling Kris about his favorite cartoons, Adam stepped out of the back door. He paused beside the picnic table to see what Tommy and Neil were up to, and then he made his way over to Kris. Adam smiled as he watched Kris push Michael, and heard the topic they were discussing. He leaned down and gave Kris a kiss, not caring if Michael or anyone else saw them.

Kris allowed himself to get distracted by Adam’s lips until Michael’s irritated, “Uncle Kris!” brought him back down to earth. Kris returned to his task of pushing Michael with a smile.

“Hey, Michael, do you remember Adam?” Kris asked gently.

“Yes,” Michael said without turning around. “He wears nail polish. He’s going to help me when I dress up.”

‘Powerpuff Girls,’ Adam mouthed when Kris frowned in confusion. Kris nodded his understanding.

“You chose the right person to help you,” Kris told Michael. “Adam’s really good with costumes.”

“I know,” Michael said, making both Kris and Adam grin.

Adam hugged Kris from behind and nuzzled into his neck as Kris continued to push the swing. Adam was the biggest kid Kris knew, which came in handy during their conversation with Michael, who jumped from topic to topic with an alacrity that made Kris’ brain hurt. By the time Kim stepped out to the back yard with a plate of sandwiches, Kris was exhausted.

“Who’s hungry?” Kim called to gather the troops.

“Me!” Michael cried, sliding off the seat mid-swing.

Kris grabbed the swing and stopped it before Michael fell and broke his neck, or sprained an ankle, and then he slumped against Adam as Michael ran across the lawn with no ill effects, completely unaware that he’d just scared Kris half to death.

“They have no fear,” Adam said as he rubbed Kris’ arms.

“Tell me about it,” Kris muttered. “Come on, we’d better get over there before everything’s gone.”

~*~*~*~

Over lunch Kris met the aforementioned Sandy, as well as her parents, Jill and Ted Barrows. Once the sandwiches were gone and the kids had been put down for a nap, Kris, Adam and Tommy stayed at the picnic table and listened to Kim and Neil tell about their experiences leading up to the asteroid hit, from stocking up on water and canned goods to taking in refugees that some of the others, through fear, wanted to send on further north.

Kris remembered the guns he’d seen as they’d driven into town and felt a belated fear for his parents standing up for what they thought was right in the face of their neighbors’ fear. He asked about the guns and the road blocks. Kim snorted her disgust. Neil covered her hand with his.

“People need to feel like they’re doing something, so we let it go for now.”

“Until they shoot someone,” Kris worried.

“Speaking of guns,” Kim said, and the tone of her voice had Kris sitting up straight. “I hear that someone pulled a gun on you.”

Kris turned betrayed eyes onto Adam. “You _told_ her about that?”

“I didn’t _mean_ to,” Adam said, giving Kris the puppy dog eyes that made it impossible for him to stay mad at him for longer than the two seconds it took Adam to press their lips together as he tried (and succeeded, as usual) to kiss his way out of trouble.

“Technically they pulled the gun on Adam,” Kris said, feeling a surge of the same anger he’d felt in that moment when he’d seen the gun pointed at Adam. “Which sort of pissed me off, actually.”

Adam dropped his eyes to the table, but Kris could see the pleased expression on his face, and he felt the pleasure at his comment in the flex of Adam’s fingers on his thigh. For a moment Kris wished that they were alone so he could slide onto Adam’s lap and kiss him until they both forgot that anyone’d had the temerity to point a weapon at the man Kris loved.

Kris blushed when Kim cleared her throat and spoke. “Well, I’ve got some dishes to do. Tommy, want to help me? Neil, don’t you have something to do in the garage?” she added with a gentle shove to his shoulder.

“What?” Neil said, confused by the sudden change of topic.

“Kris and Adam want to be alone,” Kim explained with a ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ expression on her face.

“Mama!”

Tommy snorted and followed Kim to the house with a casual gait that said he had no problem getting his hands wet. Neil gave them a helpless shrug, then wandered off towards the garage.

“Oh my god!” Kris said as everyone disappeared, leaving him and Adam alone. He ducked his head, embarrassed by his mother’s forwardness, even if it was on their behalf. Or maybe especially because it was on their behalf.

Adam giggled and then covered his mouth as if he couldn’t believe he’d just done that, turning horrified eyes on Kris. Which made Kris giggle. Soon they were leaning against each other and giggling together until the release of tension from not only that moment, but the trip to Conway, as well as to and from LA, brought tears that burned the back of Kris’ eyes.

“I was really worried about you,” Kris said, trying not to sniffle.

“I was worried about you, too,” Adam said. He slipped his arm around Kris’ shoulders, and Kris snuggled in against Adam’s side, curling into him and clenching his fingers into his t-shirt as if making sure Adam didn’t try to make a run for it.

Adam pressed a kiss to the side of Kris’ head. “I think your mother thought we were going to do more than cuddle when she left us alone,” he said with some amusement.

Kris blushed at the memory, but tipped his head back. “Well, we probably shouldn’t disappoint her.”

“I like the way you think,” Adam said, bending his head to touch his lips to Kris’.

“Mommy kisses daddy all the time,” Sandy said, startling them both apart.

Kris looked over to see her peering at them over the edge of the picnic table.

“Sometimes they use tongue,” she went on, making a face that let them know exactly what she thought of that. “Are you going to use tongue?”

“Um . . . ,” Kris said.

“Not anymore,” Adam muttered sadly, setting off Kris’ giggles again.

While Sandy was busy climbing up onto the bench across from them, Adam pressed his lips to Kris’ ear. “I can’t believe we were just cock blocked by a four year old,” he said with a pout.

“How come your hair’s got blue in it?” Sandy was on her knees on the bench, her elbows on the table, chin resting in her tiny hands.

“Because I like the way it looks?” Adam said.

“It looks _sassy_ ,” Kris said, making Adam do a double-take before grinning at him.

“I wanna look sassy,” Sandy said as she climbed up to sit on the table. “Can you do my hair?”

“Um . . . ,” Adam said.

“We don’t have any dye,” Kris said.

“Right! Sorry,” Adam said, making an exaggeratedly ‘sorry’ face. “Besides, you have gorgeous hair, and your mom would probably not want us to change it.”

“There you are,” Jill said as she closed the door behind her and moved down the back steps. “I’m sorry she’s bothering you; she’s supposed to be taking a nap,” Jill went on, aiming the last at Sandy.

Sandy looked guilty, but it only lasted for a second. “Mommy, I want to look sassy,” she said as Jill lifted her into her arms.

“Sassy?” Jill said as she carried Sandy towards the house and her interrupted nap.

“Oh, crap,” Adam said, which made them both burst into giggles again. “We are in so much trouble.”

Kris slid his fingers into Adam’s hair. “We wouldn’t be if you weren’t so . . . .”

Adam’s lips cut off the words and the thought behind them. Kris curled his arm around Adam’s neck and clung to him as Adam claimed his mouth. Kris couldn’t believe how quickly the heat flared in his belly as need swamped him. It felt like the beginning all over again, when neither one of them could get enough of the other. When every glance made Kris’ nerves sing, and every touch of their hands led to a hug or a kiss, and oftentimes, more.

“I love you,” Adam said.

“I love you, too,” Kris said, just managing to get the words out before Adam kissed him again and stole them right out of his mouth.

Adam released Kris once more and stared intently into his eyes. “Do you want children?”

Kris stared back at Adam, too stunned to speak for a moment. “Where did that come from?” he asked gently when he could speak again.

Adam shrugged and gave Kris a sheepish look, as if he hadn’t really meant to ask. “I’d thought about it . . . before . . . and seeing you with Michael and Beatrix . . . .”

“Beatrix scares me,” Kris couldn’t help saying.

Adam ignored that. “I know this isn’t the best time to be thinking about something like this, I mean . . . .” He rubbed his thumb over the ring he’d only replaced on Kris’ finger the day before. “. . . with the way things are, and everything.”

“At least you won’t be going off on tour and leaving me home to be a house husband and single father for six months at a time,” Kris joked, only it came out sharper than Kris had intended it to.

“Kris?” Kris dropped his eyes, unable to look into Adam’s face, and when he didn’t answer, Adam went on. “I never wanted to leave you, you know that.” He made it a statement, but there was still a question in it.

Kris shook his head, biting back the bitterness that he’d thought he’d gotten over, and that wouldn’t help him now anyway. “I know how much you love to perform live, and see your fans.” They both did; it was one of the many things they had in common. “But near the end . . . .” Before it felt like everything had fallen apart and he’d left. “It felt like you were glad to leave so you could get away from me.” Kris never thought he’d say those words out loud to anyone, much less admit them to Adam.

“What?” Adam said. “No. That . . . I never . . . Kris.” Adam sounded as if he’d been punched in the stomach, like he couldn’t catch his breath.

When Adam pulled him into his arms, Kris went willingly, wishing he’d never made Adam sound like that. He slid his arms around Adam and clung to him, buried his face in Adam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” Kris said, not sure whether he was apologizing for saying those words now, or for not saying them two years ago, when they might have made a difference.

Adam dropped another kiss to the side of Kris’ head. “I love you,” he repeated.

“I love you, too.” Kris emphasized the words with a squeeze.

“And I _never_ wanted to get away from you, Adam said, emphasizing _his_ point with a kiss that almost made Kris forget what they’d even been talking about.

“I thought about it, too,” Kris admitted, his voice low as he snuggled up against Adam. “A little girl with blue eyes and freckles.”

“Oh god,” Adam said, trying to keep his voice light, but failing completely to hide the pleasure in it. “You’d wish that on a child of ours?”

Kris shivered at the words, the nebulous idea of raising a child with Adam taking more solid form in them. “Yes,” Kris said, raising his face to Adam’s. “I’d want her to look just like you.”

Something about that moment, the words Kris spoke, or the way he looked at him, set off a fire in Adam that Kris saw in his eyes just before he captured Kris’ lips again. For the first time since they’d arrived in Conway, Kris wished they were back up at the lake so he could drag Adam up to their bedroom.

As if just having that thought jinxed them, Daniel plopped down on the other side of the picnic table hard enough to vibrate the bench they were sitting on. “Am I interrupting anything?”

They broke the kiss and Kris hid his face against Adam’s shoulder, not wanting anyone (especially Daniel, who would never let him forget it) see the raw emotions he knew must be writ across his face.

“Wow,” Daniel said, sounding serious. “I am interrupting.”

Adam pressed his lips to Kris’ hair, hiding his own face. “No, you’re not,” he said, answering Daniel, but he didn’t raise his face or let go of Kris.

Before Daniel could say anything else, Carol appeared with a pie in hand. “Hey,” she said, the word trailing off. “Is this a bad time?”

Kris snorted against Adam’s shirt, which made Adam giggle into his hair. Kris was still hard, painfully so, and he figured Adam was, too, but he turned his face just enough so he could see Carol and Daniel without lifting his head off Adam. “It’s fine,” he said, adding, “Really,” when it didn’t look as if they believed him.

“Well, good,” Carol said softly, “because your mom’s right behind me with plates.”

Kris paid attention to the pie for the first time. “Is that apple?”

Daniel grinned. “Apple pie wins over sex?”

Kris blushed even as he said, “Who says I have to choose?”

Adam barked out a surprised laugh as Carol shoved Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel covered his eyes.

“That’s an image I didn’t need; almost makes me want to pass on the pie.”

“Good,” Kris said, waggling his eyebrows. “We’ll save your slice for later.”

“I said ‘almost’,” Daniel pointed out. “And, god, please stop that.”

“Stop what?” Kim said as she set the tray of plates, glasses and silverware on the table.

“Kris was just telling us how much he loves your apple pie,” Daniel said with a smirk.

Kris kicked Daniel under the table, and Adam choked on a laugh he hurried to cut off when Kris pinched him. Kris absently took the glass of cold milk Tommy was handing around as he watched Kim cut the pie.

“You didn’t lose power,” Kris said as the temperature of the glass registered.

“No,” Kim said as she passed the first plate to Tommy, much to Daniel’s disappointment. “It flickered a couple of times, but it hasn’t gone out.” She knocked her knuckles on the table. “And we’ve been lucky with food; the one good thing from having an armed guard in town is that there hasn’t been any looting.”

“And most places are encouraged to keep their prices reasonable,” Neil added as he approached the table. He bussed Kim’s cheek, then joined them on the bench. “Though, granted, it’s only been two days; shortages are going to show soon.”

The tangled web of trucks moving over damaged roads, warehouses and manufacturing plants possibly destroyed, farms where the food originated from gone, and even if they still existed, hoarding the food for themselves, gave Kris a headache, so he decided to worry about that later. He couldn’t do anything about it right now, anyway.

Jill and Ted joined them, and they made room on the benches. Kris asked them about their trip north, which had been more harrowing than their trip east, mainly because they’d been alone and scared, and trapped in a gridlock of traffic. They’d seen two men arguing on the side of the road, once, and been too afraid to pull over and help even if they’d been able to.

Their story made Kris even more glad that he’d found Adam in LA. Beneath the cover of the table he slipped his hand into Adam’s. As stealthy as he’d tried to be, Kris felt his mother’s eyes on him. He turned to look at her and caught the soft expression on her face as she gazed at their linked hands. Kim blinked and looked up, smiling when she saw Kris’ eyes on her. She reached out and took Kris’ other hand, her fingers touching the ring he hadn’t worn for nearly two hears before clutching his fingers in hers.

When it was time to clean up, Kim pressed Kris into service to help her carry the dishes back to the house for washing. Adam gave him an amused look that clearly said it was Kris’ turn to endure his mother’s third degree.

“You going back tomorrow?” Kim asked as she drew water into the sink to do the dishes. She captured the cold water in jugs so as not to waste it, and then plugged the sink and squirted in detergent when it began to run warm.

“Yes,” Kris said. He’d been able to not think about it for hours at a time, but he was worried about the others they’d left behind. He knew they could take care of themselves, but it would make him feel better to be there. Of course, once he was back at the lake, he’d worry about his parents. It was a catch-22 with no solution, unless . . . .

“I don’t suppose you’d come up to the lake?”

Kim gave Kris an amused look as she rinsed off the dishes in a small bucket of the cool water before placing them in the sink of warm, soapy water. “So you can take care of us?”

“No,” Kris denied. “So I know you’re okay.”

“That’s what the CB radios are for, right?” When Kris didn’t look convinced, she assured him, “We’ll be fine, but if things get bad, we’ll join you at the lake, okay?”

“Okay,” Kris agreed, mainly because he had little choice in the matter. It wasn’t as if he could force them to go up to the lake.

“So,” Kim said as she dipped her hands into the water and started washing the dishes, piling them in the other side of the sink to be rinsed. “You and Adam.”

Kris turned away to hide his blush at those simple words, and stood watching out the back door. “What about me and Adam?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

Kim snorted. He waited for her to ask about the ring, or whether he knew what he was doing. He should’ve known better. Instead she asked, “Are you happy now?”

Kris smiled as he watched Adam laugh at something Daniel had said. “Yeah,” he said. “Despite the shi–, er, the circumstances . . . .” Which were less than ideal and filled with uncertainty. “. . . I’m happy. I feel . . . .” Light. As if a great weight had been lifted off his chest giving his heart room to expand and beat properly for the first time in years. As if he’d float away if someone didn’t grab onto him and hold on. As if they’d gone full circle and were starting this whole falling in love thing all over again.

Adam glanced towards the back door, as if he’d sensed Kris standing there, sensed Kris’ eyes on him. He smiled, and Kris smiled back.

“. . . very happy,” Kris finished.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time I wrote a pinch-hit apoca!fic for kradamreversebb that received such a gratifying response, I can’t even tell you. christig428 let me know how much she enjoyed that story, and so when she purchased my Kradam fic for the Dollar Drive at krisfansunite I immediately knew what fic I was going to write for her: a follow up to Every Second Counts (On a Clock That’s Ticking). It was only after I started writing it that I began to worry that the follow-up might not live up to the original story, or might not answer the burning questions people wanted answered. However, I enjoyed writing this story, revisiting that universe, and I hope that you all, especially christig428, enjoy it as well.


End file.
